Mayoral role Dory's latest addition to city

Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Having captured their respective positions by comfortable margins, incumbent Greencastle Clerk-Treasurer Lynda Dunbar and Mayor-elect Bill Dory congratulate one another following the final tabulations Tuesday evening. (Banner Graphic/Jared Jernagan)

After doing economic development work for and alongside five Greencastle mayors, Bill Dory now gets to sit in the hot seat himself.

Winning five of the city's eight precincts, the Democrat Dory defeated Republican Haywood Ware, 971-724, to capture the mayor's race in Tuesday's City of Greencastle municipal election.

Also calling City Hall home and earning a second four-year term is Republican Lynda Dunbar, who withstood a challenge from Democrat Eric Wolfe to retain her clerk-treasurer's seat by a 962-730 margin, claiming all but the Second West and Third West precincts.

Capturing a large margin in the Second Ward -- Dory's home turf but typically a Republican stronghold as illustrated by the 514-290 victory by GOP Council candidate Stacie Langdon over Democrat Brian Cox --- Dory posted a 498-306 edge, covering Second East and Second West. That was more than enough to overcome Ware's wins in the First North, Third East and Fourth East precincts.

Pleased to have a tough election behind him now, the 56-year-old Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center executive director shared a couple insights from the campaign trail.

"I will say that in going door to door," Dory said, "the vast majority of people are proud to live in Greencastle and they're happy to see the progress the community is making."

Democrat Chairman Adam Cohen, himself re-elected to the First Ward seat, praised Dory for what he has already contributed to the community while saying he knows more is on the way.

"Bill Dory has devoted the better part of his life to making things better for the City of Greencastle," Cohen assured.

Dory's election continues a streak of Democrat mayoral leadership that began with Mike Harmless in 1987 and has continued through subsequent multiple terms for Nancy Michael and Sue Murray, now covering eight straight city elections.

"The first order of business will be taking stock of what carryover projects we have in the pipeline," Dory said, "and make sure they are all tied up and ready for the next construction season."

Looking toward a smooth transition after eight years of leadership from Mayor Murray, Dory said "it looks like we've got a great Council" in praising the newly elected seven-member group as "a great crew to work with."

Meanwhile, Dory wasn't ready commit yet on city department heads, who by statute serve at the behest of the mayor.

"I plan to sit down and talk to each of them (the department heads) to see what their plans are," the new mayor said.

With the re-election of Clerk-Treasurer Dunbar, the City Hall party split between mayor and clerk-treasurer continues to be a Greencastle oddity.

Dunbar nonetheless is looking forward to working with Dory.

"Bill and I have worked together the last four years on a number of different projects," she said, "so I don't anticipate any problems working with the new mayor."

Dunbar captured six of the eight city precincts in winning re-election.

"I'm really excited about having four more years," she said, using the word "excited" several times in conveying her thoughts and feelings after the election results were posted at the courthouse.

Smiling, Dunbar laughed and added, "At least there's one body coming back to City Hall that knows how to set the security code and turn on the computers."

Wolfe, whose campaign materials and ads were seemingly everywhere the last month, stressed that the defeat "certainly wasn't for lack of campaigning and working hard."

"I feel like we made all the calls to our supporters and I think we did everything we could do. I'm pleased with the way we ran our campaign."

But would he do it all over again?

"No comment," Wolfe smiled, glancing at wife June before adding, "who knows, in four years what might happen. I'm only 33 years old."

Wolfe said he plans to spend the next four years building up the real estate business he has created.

With the Greencastle City Council expanding to seven members (from five) for the first time with two additional at-large representatives, Republican Chairman Jerry Ensor said he had hoped to earn at least a majority of the Council with four GOP members this time.

"I wanted four (members of the Council) and we got three," he said, noting that he has only one more year in mind for himself before stepping down as Putnam County GOP chairman.

The GOP trio elected Tuesday are Stacie Langdon in Second Ward, Tyler Wade in Fourth Ward and Mark Hammer as one of the three at-large members. All three captured their spots easily with Wade, the incumbent, beating Democrat Tanis Monday by a 191-125 margin. Hammer, meanwhile, was the top vote-getter among the five choices for at-large with 1,187 votes, Next closest were the two Democrats, Dave Murray (920) and Gary Lemon (832).

Meanwhile, Cohen, the reigning City Council president and Democrat chairman, said, "We ran as Democrats, but we ran as people who wanted to represent the city.

"I don't view the Council as a Republican-Democrat Council. It's a Council that works together to move the city forward."

On the day -- a sunny one in the mid-70s -- 1,727 registered city voters went to the polls for a 25.75 percent turnout in the City of Greencastle.

"My first thought is how amazed I am at the way the Second Ward came out in voting," Councilman Hammer said. "I'm going to be anxious to see what the percentage turnout was for the city and for Second Ward because that seemed be where it was busiest today, by far."

Second Ward precincts showed the best with 38.44 percent in Second East and 37.49 percent in Second West.

Four of the city's eight precincts failed to top 20 percent turnout. Those were Fourth West (19.58), First North (19.10), Fourth East (17.66) and the lowest, First South (16.64).

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